Unknown Soldier
by xxnoxbigxdealxx
Summary: After losing her memory, Emery meets Roxas and almost immediately falls in love. When people from the not-so-long-ago past start showing up and a sinister plot unfolds, she begins to question if love is in the cards at all. RoxasxOC
1. Chapter 1

She opens her eyes slowly but doesn't quite understand what she sees. It's a white ceiling, and while that much is easy to comprehend how she got here isn't. She can't seem to remember anything; not where she is, why she's here or even _who_ she is. She turns her head to the side at the sound of a soft voice and sees a pale blue-eyed girl with blond hair. The girl smiles softly.

"Hi, I'm Naminé." She tilts her head to the side. "How do you feel?"

"I can't remember my name..." At this Naminé frowns. "Where am I?"

Naminé doesn't say anything for a moment then answers, "Destiny Islands." She stands up and smiles sweetly again. "I'll be right back. I think I know someone who can help you." She walks out the door. The girl lies in the bed and tries very hard in the short time she's alone to remember her name but to no avail.

Naminé comes back with another woman, this one a bit older than her, who has blue eyes and matching hair. She sits on the edge of the bed, smiling just as sweetly as Naminé, and introduces herself as Aqua. "So you can't remember your name? Can you remember anything, like maybe what happened to you? Why you have all those scratches?"

She thinks really hard about that as she rubs some bandages she just noticed. "I can't," she says finally in a voice almost too soft to hear. Aqua nods but she knows there isn't a thing she can do for this girl right now. Recovering memories isn't something Aqua's mastered yet and it'll take a couple of days. "You can't help me," she says, reading the expression on Aqua's face. Aqua smiles as reassuringly as possible.

"I can, but it'll take time." She stands up and looks at Naminé. "Maybe you can take her out to meet everyone else. Talking to other people may help jog her memory. If you're up to it, that is." The last part is directed at the amnesiac, who nods in agreement. She actually feels fine, aside from her lack of memory and a bit of soreness from the harsher wounds. She carefully slides off the bed and follows Naminé and Aqua out the door. Aqua turns left and vanishes into another room a short distance down the hall and Naminé leads the other girl to the right and out a door that leads to a paved street lined with many other houses.

"This is the main island. I'm sure everyone else is on the smaller island, so we'll have to take a boat over there." The girl nods and walks along beside the blond. She finds the silence between them awkward and desperately wants to talk to her companion but can't think of anything to talk about. She's happy to see that the walk to the nearest boat isn't a long one but gets a little fidgety when she realizes that they have to row themselves and the distance is, as far as she can tell, quite long.

"I don't think I've ever been in a boat before..." She says as they approach the boat. She glances at Naminé, who just smiles at her as she climbs into the vessel.

"Don't worry, it's easy. If you can't get the hang of it, I can take over." Naminé motions for her to climb in as well. Very shakily and completely sure she's never done it before, she stumbles into the small watercraft. She holds onto the sides until the thing stops rocking on the waves. Naminé giggles. "How about you just relax this time and I'll teach you to row later?" The stranger nods and Naminé notices her skin is a shade paler than before.

To the amnesic girl, the ride seems to drag on endlessly. In reality it only takes about three minutes for Naminé to maneuver the boat onto the other island's shore. The girl practically crawls out of it, imagining the boat drifting back into the water with her in it and capsizing. She wonders vaguely if she knows how to swim and decides that she'd rather just wait until she got her memories back to even think about such a thing.

An over-friendly brunette is suddenly in her face and causes her to nearly fall into the shallow water. He smiles awkwardly. "Hey there! You okay?" She takes a step back, startled, and gives a weak smile and a nod. "I'm Sora." He offers his hand and she accepts it, shaking it lightly.

"Hey, it's the girl from this photo," a blond guy says, holding up a picture so that Sora can see. Sora nods and the blond boy flips it over so he can read the few words written there. "Are you Emery?" She shrugs slowly.

"She can't remember her name," Naminé explains for her. She turns to her. "This is Roxas." She points to another group of people on top of a small hill under a strange looking tree. "The others are up there. Roxas can I see the picture?" Roxas nods and hands the picture to her. She studies it for a long time. "Well it's definitely you. The picture must be yours. What do you think?"

The girl looks at the picture. "I think Emery is a nice name. Until I can remember I wouldn't mind being called that." Naminé grins and hands the picture to Emery. "Roxas, Sora, it's nice to meet you both." Sora laughs loudly and Roxas smiles and the four start for the larger group. Naminé takes care of introductions quickly and everyone greets Emery warmly and goes back to their previous conversations.

"Where's Aqua?" Kairi, a red-head who looks very similar to Naminé, appears between Emery and Sora.

"She stayed back at the house to try and figure out a way to get Emery to remember." Emery begins to tune them out as they talk about first her memory loss, then other things that Emery doesn't know anything about. She instead starts looking around at the interesting island—the odd tree with yellow star-shaped fruit behind her, the quaint little wooden buildings, the beautiful waterfall and small pond—and eventually her eyes land on Roxas, who's eyes immediately move down when she looks at him. Emery notices, then, how attractive the boy is. His soft blond hair and deep blue eyes mesmerize her and she can't seem to tear her own eyes away even as he glances back up at her. His light pink lips curl into a slight smile and she realizes faintly that he's smiling at her. The sun shines through the tree's leaves and illuminates him gorgeously and he looks like he might be something of her imagination.

Naminé puts her hand on Emery's shoulder gently and asks if she's feeling alright and just like that the moment is gone. Roxas quickly averts his eyes, a light pink painting his cheeks and Emery just smiles at Naminé and the others and assures them she feels just fine.

Another member of their group, a boy with silver hair and pale blue eyes, puts his arm around Sora's neck and gives him a rough squeeze. "Hey, Riku, cut it out!" Sora yelps. Emery can't help but laugh and she feels bad at first until she notices everyone else laughing as well.

Riku lets Sora go though and looks at Emery. "So, how do you like the place so far?" Emery smiles, unsure of what to say. She hadn't seen much of it and for the most part all she'd done was stand on this island and listen to everyone talk.

Except that isn't quite accurate as she do much listening. She blushes a bit but answers Riku with, "I think it's very beautiful. I'd like to see more, though." At this, multiple people begin a discussion of the best parts of their island. As the debate gets more excited, Emery pulls back from the conversation nervously. Roxas comes up beside her and she looks anxiously at him, wondering if she may have just caused an argument.

"It's okay. There's just so many people that they get loud sometimes." Roxas smiles reassuringly and Emery nods.

"Do you have a favorite...place, I guess, too?"

Roxas thinks for a moment and decides he does. "I think the big yellow star on the other side of this island is pretty cool." Emery smiles and tilts her head to the side as if to say 'I don't know what you're talking about, remember?' Roxas laughs. "Right, I can show you. It lights up, too."

"Yeah? Okay, I'm curious." She looks at the others in their still heated battle over the best area of the island. Roxas attempts, with no luck, to get the attentions of his friends but after a moment of being ignored he decides to just leave them there. He gestures for Emery to follow him and he leads her across the bridge, through the small shack, back under the bridge and through a haplessly built wooden door.

Emery notices the rickety broken bridge first. The pitiful thing has gaps of missing pieces and a few pieces that look ready to crumble away. Roxas guides her over it, though, and she cautiously jumps over the breaks.

"We're almost there but there is a bit more jumping," Roxas informs her as they walk up a hill. Emery can see the jumps he's talking about and doesn't think they look too bad at all. She can also see the star he's leading her to.

"Wow, it looks like a...tree?" She laughs at the idea but Roxas nods.

"It does. We call it a tree." He jumps to the next edge and turns to wait for her before jumping up the rest of the way to the tree. Emery follows with ease. "Pretty interesting, huh?" Emery rubs her palm down the length of the very real trunk, marveling at how exotic it is.

"It's amazing. You said it lights up?" Roxas nods, touching a part of the tree that Emery doesn't really pay much attention to. The star glows a bright spellbinding yellow that makes Emery grin. "Wow, it's so wonderful!" Roxas admires her as she admires the tree.

He watches her push her shining black hair behind her ear, moving it out of the way so her pastel green eyes could trace the small tree. She smiles, showing all of her perfect white teeth, and looks at Roxas. His heart skips a beat. He has never seen anything as beautiful as this girl in front of him.

Feeling suddenly very awkward, Emery clears her throat. "Thanks for showing this to me." She rubs her arm sheepishly and looks up at him from under her eyelashes.

"Of course!" He looks around at the coconut trees and says, "Guess we should get back to the others. They'll probably be wondering where we went." He gives her a small smile and makes his way back down the hill, almost leaving her behind completely.

She catches up to him quickly and halfway back to the other side of the island Sora and Riku greet them. "Hey," Sora says merrily. "We thought you might have come back here." Roxas grins, matching Sora's expression and Emery notices for the first time that Sora and Roxas look very similar too, like Naminé and Kairi. She wonders about it briefly but turns her attention back to the boys leaving before they can get too far ahead of her.

"Everyone else already went back to the main island," Riku explains as they make their way to the boats. "Guess you'll be staying with Aqua and Naminé for now, Emery." His light eyes land on the girl who is eying the small boats uneasily. He looks at her quizzically. "You scared of water or something?"

"Huh? No, not water. I just don't know how well I can swim and those things don't seem...safe." She stops and watches Sora step over the sides and sit down on the bench, wondering how in the world he managed to get in the thing without it wobbling and rocking. Roxas gets into a second boat and offers his hand. Emery warily looks from his hand to boat and back before hesitantly taking it and sitting on the bench opposite him. The boat barely moves, much to her surprise. "Wow, that wasn't...so bad..." Riku and Sora laugh.

"Yeah, now let's go before they think we drowned or something," Riku says sarcastically as he and Sora begin to push their boat out into the deeper water with their oars.

"I don't know how to do this," Emery says to Roxas, gesturing to the wooden oars sitting across his lap.

"We'll go slow. Unless you just want me-"

"I want to learn," she interrupts, taking one of the oars from him. She doesn't like feeling useless—which she just realizes—and now that the boat isn't freaking her out as much as before she thinks she can handle rowing back to the main shore.

"Okay, I'll teach you." He puts his in the water and tells her to put hers in on the opposite side. He pushes their boat into the water and tells her to follow his speed.

The trip back takes a little longer than it had when Naminé had been rowing, but they get there without getting wet and Emery feels a sense of accomplishment. "Good job," Roxas says happily. Emery beams at him.

"Thanks, Roxas." She looks around. Sora and Riku had already made it back and were almost out of sight over the hill in the distance, leaving just the two of them on the dock. "So...is it weird that I would feel more comfortable with you than with Naminé and Aqua?" Roxas looks at her questioningly, confused by her what she had asked. "I mean...as far as sleeping in their house. I feel like I know you better or something, I guess." She curses herself for making this conversation so awkward.

"You...want to stay with me?" He smiles. They had only just met, of course, but Roxas felt like he really had a connection with her that made him want to be around her all the time so hearing that she wants to be around him too makes his heart pound in his chest.

Emery looks down and back up from under her long lashes. "Yes," she whispers. Her heart races and makes her feel like she can't breathe. It seems like an eternity before he answers, though it's really only a few seconds.

"That sounds great," he says just as quietly as she had. Emery can hardly contain her excitement, but she manages to confine it just a huge smile. "I guess we better go. It's gonna get dark soon." Emery looks back over the ocean at the slowly lowering sun. She hadn't realized how late in the day it was until now.

Roxas escorts her to a small apartment building a short walk from where Aqua's house is. They stop to tell Naminé about the change of plans and so Emery can ask her to thank Aqua for working on recovering her memories. Naminé promises to thank her and wishes them a good night and they continue on their way.

His apartment is on the fourth floor, room 409. It's a small flat with only one bedroom, a living room, a kitchen and a bathroom, but as it's lightly furnished it seems huge. A black leather couch sits in the far corner of the living room, directly across from a medium-sized TV. An end table with a small lamp sits on one side of the couch but no other furniture exists in that area.

The kitchen has a few appliances—a microwave, a coffee pot, and a blender—on the counter but aside from those there's nothing else. A small hallway, decorated with a painting of a flowery field that Emery suspects belongs to the landlord, leads to Roxas's bedroom and the bathroom. Roxas's bedroom, from what Emery can see, has a standard queen sized bed and dresser but not much more. The plain red shower curtain hanging in front of the bath tub and Roxas's dental care products are the only things in the bathroom.

"Home sweet home," Roxas says modestly. Emery smiles kindly.

"I think it's nice." She makes herself at home on the sofa. "Is this where I'm sleeping?" Roxas sits down beside her and shakes his, no. "I'm not taking your bed," she says sternly. "Besides, this couch is very comfortable." She snuggles down into the corner a bit and accidentally presses too hard on one of the deeper scratches and winces. "Ouch," she hisses quietly.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, still sore."

He looks her over, his azure eyes darting from one bandage to the next like some kind of connect the dots game. She watches him until his eyes reach hers and then she smiles warmly. He returns the expression. "You don't remember anything about them?"

"No, nothing. But let's not worry about that. Aqua's taking care of it." Emery sits up a little straighter and touches his hand lightly. "Thank you for letting me stay here."

"O-of course, Emery." He blushes a little.

"Hey! I have an idea," Emery says excitedly. "Let's ask each other questions and get to know each other." Roxas laughs a little.

"But you don't remember anything, I wouldn't be getting to know you at all."

Emery thinks about that for a moment. "Okay, ask me things and I'll tell you what I think I would do or say or whatever. I'll go first. Um, what's your favorite color?" Roxas thinks about that for a while, though after taking a look around the room Emery imagines it would be black, white or red.

"I'm not sure. Maybe red. My turn?" Emery nods fervently. "Okay. What's your favorite color?"

"Blue. The color of the sky. I don't know if that's what it was before but when I saw the bright blue sky today I fell in love with it." She laughs, sounding absurd to herself for some reason. "Anyway, how old are you?"

Roxas laughs, "I'm twenty. Why won't you take the bed?"

Emery smiles. She had expected the question to come up. "I don't feel right taking your bed. I've already imposed enough by staying here, no reason for me to make it worse."

Before she can ask a question he says, "You are not imposing. I like your company." He yawns suddenly and laughs shyly about saying, "Sorry. I haven't been sleeping well lately."

"You can go to bed if you like. I know it's still a little early but I don't mind. I need to sleep, too, so my wounds will heal faster." She giggles. "Maybe I'll even recover some of my memories while I dream."

"Okay." He stands up a looks at her for a moment. "Let me get you a pillow and a blanket." Emery snuggles into the couch and Roxas laughs when he comes back and sees her. "Here, raise your head." He puts the pillow there and throws the blanket over her. With a soft look and a faint smile he says, "Good night, Emery."

"Good night, Roxas."


	2. Chapter 2

Emery wakes with a sense of awe. Her dreams had been filled with landscapes that she simply knows were her home. She can't explain how she knows that and it confuses her. Her mother, as well, had a starring role in her night visions and Emery's heart aches to think about her though nothing in the memory of her dreams provides an answer for that. She throws the warm bedding over the back of the couch and gets up for some water. She can see as she passes the hall that Roxas's door is closed so she assumes he's still sleeping. As quietly as she can she checks the cabinets for glasses and eventually finds some in a cabinet next to the fridge. She chooses a tumbler, debates checking his fridge for something better than water and decides against it, and fills her cup from the tap.

She decides the water tastes a little better than she thought it would as she sits on the couch. Her mind wanders to the photograph Roxas had given her the day before. She hadn't looked at it very closely then because she couldn't remember anything about it, she hadn't even read the words on the back. She reaches into her pocket and pulls the folded and wrinkled picture out, opting to read the back of it first.

Written in a very beautiful feminine scrawl is, 'Emery, I love you more than anything in the world'. Her eyes fill with tears when she flips it over and sees herself with a gorgeous raven-haired woman with the most exquisite green eyes she's ever seen. She recognizes the woman as her mother, though in her dream she was a bit fuzzy and hard to really see. Emery can't fathom why the picture would make her as sad it does, but she starts speculating that maybe her mother is dead. The thought brings fresh tears to the surface so she decides to stop thinking about it altogether.

She folds the picture back up and puts it back in her pocket. She still hasn't heard anything from Roxas's room so she resolves to go see Aqua about her dreams and sudden recovery of a few memories. She contemplates leaving Roxas a message about where she's going but, as she can't find any paper, she leaves and settles to be as quick as possible.

She practically sprints down the road and knocks on the door, hoping that she doesn't actually wake anyone up. Much to her pleasure Aqua answers, not looking as if she had been stirred from the depths of sleep at all, and invites Emery in claiming to also have news about her amnesia.

"You first," she says as she she pours herself and Emery some orange juice.

"Last night I dreamed of my mom and my home," Emery explains excitedly, still out of breath from her run. She takes a long sip of the orange juice and and wishes to herself that it was water instead. "And I even have this picture of my mom, who I didn't realize was my mom when I first saw it!" She pulls the picture out and unfolds it to show Aqua.

"So, you really remember? That's good. That means that your brain is working to recover the memories on its own. Now, my good news is that I can speed the process up." She hands the photo back to its owner. "Not by much, of course, it'll still take a couple of days." Emery nods understandingly. "It will also require you to spend some time here every day. You see, I have to hook you up to a machine."

"A machine? How long will I have to be hooked up to it?"

"Not long. I think two hours a day should probably be the maximum. I don't know if there are any negative effects if you stay there too long, but I don't want you to be an experiment. Come with me, I'll show what it is." Emery follows Aqua down the hall and into a room with a large computer. Beside the computer is a floor-to-ceiling tubular pod with a small wooden chair inside.

"Wow..." Emery says in wonder.

"Yes, it's quite amazing. You'll sit in that chair and the cylinder will close and fill with sleeping gas. Once you're asleep, my computer will run a constant analysis of your vital signs to help me make sure you're okay. At the same time, I'll use the computer to tap into your brain, in a way, to trigger memories and pull them back up to the surface."

"That seems easy, but I'm sure it's not. Thank you for doing this for me."

"Well, you're kind of helping me practice."

Emery looks at her skeptically. "Practice? Have you never done this before?" Aqua nods slowly and runs her hand along the gleaming computer surface.

"Yes, I have. But not on a human. However there were no negative effects then and I know there won't be any this time." Emery seems unsure so Aqua adds, "I understand if you'd rather just let your brain do its job in its own time."

Emery takes a long deep breath. "No. I know we just met, but I think I can trust your judgment. When can we start?" Aqua smiles appreciatively.

"I have a meeting at school this morning but later today we can start and maybe just do an hour to see how it goes. It's completely up to you, though."

"What time can I come back? I'd like to start as soon as possible."

"The meeting shouldn't be that long but I have a few other things I need to take care of first. How about tonight around seven?" Emery nods though she's disappointed they're waiting so late. She feels uncomfortable about asking her to do it any earlier than the time she specified so she doesn't say anything else. "Okay, and try to eat right before you come. Maybe, like, fifteen minutes before." Once again, Emery nods. "Great. Well I need to get ready. You're free to stay but you'll have to excuse me."

They leave and part ways, Aqua goes to her bedroom and Emery starts the trek back to Roxas's to see if he's up. He greets her before she can make it back. "Emery! I was wondering where you went." Emery thinks she sees worry etched around his watery blue eyes but doesn't say anything about it.

"I was going to leave you a note but I couldn't find any paper. I went to see Aqua about my amnesia. I remembered some things last night while I was sleeping." Roxas grins, genuinely happy for her.

"Like what?"

"Well," she digs in her pocket for the third time and shows him her mother, "this lady is my mom. And I remember what my home looks like. Kinda anyway."

"So then your name really is Emery? I'm glad we got it right." Roxas shoves his hands in his pockets and flashes his teeth in a faint grin. "So, I'm pretty hungry. Want to get some breakfast and head to the beach?" Emery giggles and puts the photo in her pocket again.

"Sure, Roxas, but I have no money."

"Don't worry about that. Come on, I know a great place." He wraps his fingers gently around her wrist and pulls her behind him. Her heart skips when his pinky brushes the fleshy part of her palm and she glances at the back of his head in shock. He doesn't seem to even notice but she wonders—or rather hopes that—if he did it on purpose and if his heart skipped like hers had.

Unable to stand the feeling of her heart racing she quickens her pace so that she's beside him and softly pulls her hand away from his. She looks at him from her peripheral to see if he has any kind of reaction but he just keeps walking quietly.

The main area—what Emery wants to instinctively call the town square—is very alive with people. There are a few booths with people inside them selling various jewelry and accessories and Emery checks out their products as they navigate through the growing crowd. Roxas leads them to a small tan building with several green letters that read 'Summer Bri's'. Emery can smell the food wafting on the gentle wind as they get closer to the door and her mouth waters when Roxas opens it and lets her through. She realizes that she literally can't remember the last time she's eaten and her stomach growls loud enough for Roxas to hear it at the thought.

He laughs softly and guides her to a table. "This my favorite place. They have the best chocolate chip pancakes." Emery grins and looks over the menu he hands her.

"Well, maybe I should just try their chocolate chip pancakes."

A young woman comes over with a small pad of paper and a blue pen and asks if she can take their order. Roxas orders for both himself and Emery and as the woman walks away to fetch their drinks, Roxas smiles at Emery and says, "So after this do you want to go over the small island or just stay on the beach here?"

Emery thinks for second then says, "There's so much to explore on that other island. I'd like to go over there." Roxas nods and the woman sets his drink in front of him and Emery's in front of her.

"Thank you," Roxas tells the woman, who offers him a bored smile and walks away. Roxas is about to say something else when a familiar brunette sits down beside Emery and makes her nearly jump out of her skin.

"Hey, guys!" Sora says cheerfully, trying not to laugh at Emery. Kairi takes the remaining chair across from Sora and Riku pulls a chair up to sit beside her. "I'm starving, has someone already taken your order?" He grabs a menu, seemingly not too interested in the answer to the question he just asked. "Bacon and eggs sound awesome..."

"Good morning, you two," Kairi says in a tone much quieter than Sora's. Emery greets her and Roxas smiles. "How you feeling this morning, Emery?"

"I actually remember my home and my mom." Emery nods at Kairi's impressed expression. "Yeah, Aqua says my brain is recovering my memories as I sleep." The waitress brings Roxas's and Emery's food, a look of surprise on her face when she sees the table has gotten three extra people. She quickly takes their orders and brings back their drinks.

"That's good to hear, Emery," Kairi continues. "What are you two doing after this? We were thinking of going to the play island and swimming. It's going to be hot today." Emery looks at Roxas but he's just quietly eating his food.

"You guys should come with us!" Sora exclaims.

Emery laughs. "Well, I don't have a swimsuit an-"

"You can borrow one of Kairi's! Right, Kairi?" Kairi giggles at Sora's constant and huge amount of energy but nods in agreement. "It'll be fun and I know you're worried about you not being able to swim, but we can teach you if you can't!"

Emery smiles but wishes Roxas would say something. "Okay, that sounds fun. We were going over there anyway right, Roxas?" Roxas nods and smiles for his friends but goes back to quietly eating when the attention's off of him. Emery looks down at her own food for a second, feeling as though Roxas is upset about something, then begins eating. Roxas was right, Emery enjoys chocolate chip pancakes quite a bit.

Eventually the waitress brings the others' food and and once everyone has eaten they all head to Kairi's house so Kairi can give Emery a pink bikini with with a light blue bow on the top and a macrame light blue flower on the bottoms. Since she and Kairi have similar body types, the bikini fits well but being as shy as she is Emery re-dresses herself before the boys can see her. They also stop by Roxas's house so he can get his own swim trunks and then they head for the beach.

Before they reach the boats, Naminé calls out to them. They all turn to see her jogging down onto the beach in a white sundress. She joins them and rides with Riku across the small gap of water to the other side where they're greeted by Tidus and Wakka and a few other people. Sora and the others start talking to them and getting ready to swim while Emery hangs back with Roxas.

"Did you not want to come with them?" Emery asks quietly, making sure no one but Roxas can hear her. Roxas smiles.

"I don't mind swimming with them."

Emery, not believing his answer, presses the subject a little harder. "You weren't saying anything and I didn't exactly know how to tell them no." She chastises herself for making it sound like she's blaming him. "I'm sorry." Roxas gives a short laugh.

"What are you sorry for? They are my friends. I told you, Em, I don't mind hanging out with them." He grins and walks over to the others, leaving Emery to begin wondering if she was just imagining his suddenly introverted attitude at the restaurant. As she meets up with everyone else she realizes that he had called her 'Em'. Her heart races with exhilaration and she laughs inwardly at herself because of it. _It's only a nickname_. Nevertheless, she can't stop smiling about the sense of familiarity it gives her.

She timidly removes her shirt and pants, just as Kairi had, and lays them somewhere they won't get wet. Mostly everyone else had gotten in the water and started splashing and laughing, the only exceptions being herself and Naminé who is still wearing her white sundress. She's sitting on the fruit tree with a drawing pad, occasionally looking at the ocean stretching out in front of her. Emery walks up there and stands at the foot of the tree.

"Hey, Emery. How are you today?" The blond doesn't stop drawing for a second but Emery doesn't mind.

"I'm fine, thanks." She doesn't feel like saying she remembered her mom as she's starting to sound repetitive to herself. "You not swimming with us?"

"I will," she finally looks up with a friendly smile. "I'm just going to wait for a while." She goes back to drawing.

"Are you drawing the horizon?" Emery wants to take a small peek but tells herself that would be rude and resists the urge. Naminé shakes her head, no, but doesn't elaborate any further. "Oh, well I'm going to go swim, okay? I'll talk to you later." Naminé gives her a small wave and Emery decides that that was her most awkward conversation yet as she makes her way back across the bridge. She's looking down at the sand to make sure she doesn't trip and because she's not paying attention she bumps into Roxas, who was standing on the beach with his back to her.

When he turns around, though, Emery realizes this blond is not Roxas. "Oh, hey." She notices first that his lips aren't the same pink—she would ask herself later why _that_ would be the first thing she noticed—then that his hair isn't quite the same color, though she admits to herself that she could be imagining that.

"I-I thought you were Roxas,"she stutters gracelessly. The boy laughs.

"No, I'm Ven. But Roxas and I pretty much look exactly the same." He grins and can see the question in her eyes. "It's a long and crazy story." He looks around and finally spots Roxas in the shallow water throwing a ball back and forth with Sora. He points at him. "Roxas is over there, though." Emery looks where he's pointing.

"Thanks, Ven. Oh, my name's Emery. It's nice to meet you," she says politely. He grins.

"Yeah, I wasn't here yesterday when you met everyone else but Riku told me about you. Nice to meet you, too." Emery smiles and raises her hand in a sort of wave before she crosses the space of empty beach between herself and Roxas.

"Hey, Roxas," she says happily, snatching the ball from the air before he can grab for it. She tosses it back to Sora and becomes a permanent player in their game.

"Where'd you go?" Roxas asks as he catches the ball from Sora and passes it to Emery.

"I went to talk to Naminé. She didn't have much to say though." She watches the ball soar through the air to Sora and again to Roxas.

"She never does when she's drawing. She just gets really into it," Sora explains. "She's really good, though." Roxas nods in agreement with Sora and Emery decides to change to the subject, more interested in the story behind Ven and Roxas.

"So, Ven could be your twin, Roxas."

Sora laughs and Roxas grins and says, "Yeah. That's a long story. It's pretty confusing." Emery isn't satisfied with that.

"You can't sum it up?"

Roxas laughs. "Okay, I'll try. Ven's heart used to rest within Sora. Sora lost his heart and created me. I come from Sora, but Ven's heart influenced my appearance." Emery looks at him like he's crazy and starts laughing. "What?"

"Why do you guys really look alike? Are you twins?"

"It's the truth," Sora says with a laugh. "It's just hard to understand without the whole story and that version's incredibly long and probably even more confusing."

"Yeah," Roxas says with a shrug, "I'm not even sure I fully understand what happened and I was part of it." He holds onto the ball for a while and looks at Emery. "I promise I'll try to explain it later if you really want to know." Emery studies him for a moment or so and finally nods, accepting his promise. He throws the ball to her.

They stay out in the water and on the beach all day, going back to the main island for only hour so they could eat lunch and enjoy some ice cream. Around six o'clock, Emery remembers she has to meet Aqua and tells Roxas that she needs to head back to the main island.

"Okay I'll go with you."

They don't speak the whole way back, both too tired to really think of anything to say. Roxas had once again not been able to fall asleep until late into the night and even then it was a very light sleep in which he tossed and turned too much and Emery had slept on a couch that, while comfortable, is still a couch. Their short uneventful journey ends at Aqua's door when Emery knocks and Aqua calls for them to come in.

The fresh cool air feels good and at the same time too cold to Emery. She rubs her warm skin with her hand and walks into Aqua's living room. Aqua smiles, "Hey guys. Have you eaten, Emery?" Emery shakes her head. "Alright, well let's get you something to eat first." She makes a sandwich, Emery isn't sure what kind of sandwich but she still thinks it's very delicious.

Once Emery finishes her food, Aqua leads them into the computer room. Emery slips her shirt on, as she and Roxas had simply grabbed their clothes and left since they were wet, and climbs into the pod. She gets a vague claustrophobic feeling as the door slides closed and, even though she knows what's happening, her heart begins to panic when she starts feeling uncontrollably sleepy. She closes her eyes and tries to push the feeling down until the darkness can take over.

Aqua looks at Roxas, who's watching Emery very closely, and says, "She'll be okay. She's only sleeping."

"She looked a little scared for a second," Roxas says, more to himself than to Aqua.

"Don't worry, it's a painless process and today I'm only keeping her under for an hour." They're both silent for a time while Aqua uses the computer to jump start the memory retrieving activity and Roxas stares helplessly at Emery's limp form. "Roxas, she's okay. I promise." Roxas pulls his eyes off Emery to look into Aqua's similarly colored ones.

"I just...she looks so vulnerable I guess."

Aqua laughs, "Roxas, do you have a crush on her?" Roxas blushes and shrugs. "Well, I can assure you that she's fine in there." Roxas frowns. He knows she's right, but the way Emery looks right now makes him feel more uncomfortable than he's felt in a long time. He sits in a chair in the corner of the room and silently urges Aqua to hurry up.


	3. Chapter 3

Emery keeps her eyes closed when she wakes up, too groggy to even bother trying to open them. She panics for just a second when she can't remember anything but as the events of the past few days come back to her she relaxes and finally opens her eyes. The purple satin bedding covering her feels amazing to her hands and she stares at the ceiling for a while just rubbing the fabric. Her eyes wander over to the blue wall to her left.

Her curiosity about the many notebook pages tacked to that wall pulls her from the bed and she realizes that she's been dressed in a loose-fitting grey shirt and a pair of pink shorts. Assuming they belong to either Aqua or Naminé and that one of them had changed her clothes she goes the papers hoping for a clue as to whose room she's in.

She thinks of Aqua as she reads the equations and theories that she doesn't have enough energy to think too hard about. There are also some strange sketches of a shadow creature that reminds Emery of a large ant and a pumpkin thing that looks like a carriage and gives Emery goosebumps. She frowns and looks at a few more equations absentmindedly before leaving the room.

She recognizes Aqua's home immediately, though the only light illuminating the hallway is from the moon. She quietly checks the living room, where Aqua is sleeping on the couch and Roxas is on the floor. Emery imagines it must be quite late for them to have fallen asleep where they are. With nothing better to do and not feeling tired at all she noiselessly opens the front door to take a short walk to the center of town. The emptiness and the ominous quiet makes Emery a little shaky, and the chilling sound of the wind literally whistling through the trees—as well as her hair, which makes it louder and she frequently jumps because of it—and the eerie blue color from the street lamps gives the entire place a ghost town feel that makes her want to run back to the house ad hide under a blanket until the sun comes up.

The center of town provides no change in mood and just as she's about to head back to Aqua's house a deep male voice causes her to freeze, terrified, in place. "I thought I'd find you here, Emery." She hears his footsteps as he approaches her and she slowly turns around to look at him. His green eyes glare into hers fiercely and she feels the color leave her face. She wants to move into a defensive stance but her body just won't listen to her brain.

She's when, instead of walking up to her and hurting her in some way like she thought, he wraps his arms around her tightly and picks her up off the ground. She considers screaming but chooses not to because, well, she can't. "...breathe..." she forces out, genuinely terrified for her life in this moment. He drops her to her feet and punches her shoulder lightly. Or what he thinks is lightly.

"Sorry about that, Emmy, I just missed you. I was worried about you. What are you doing? Did you take care of Sora and them because you've been taking your time," he rambles, not letting Emery get a word in. Her body is trembling, even though he's revealed he's not a threat. Growing impatient with him as he continues to talk about things Emery isn't listening to, she finally covers his mouth with her hand. He stares, confused, into her pale eyes.

"I don't know who you are or what you're talking about." She meant to sound forceful and unafraid but her voice came out as a meek whisper. He narrows his eyes, trying to figure out if she's messing with him or if she's serious. After a while, he realizes that she is, in fact, sincere and he slumps.

"Oh, Emmy..." He pats her shoulder gently. "Come with me, Master Vexilia will know what to do." He offers his hand but Emery stares at him as if he's insane. "Come on, Emery! She's already gonna be pissed that you didn't finish, or even start, the damn mission." She can tell that he's getting angrier every second she doesn't go with him but all she can think about is Roxas. He smacks his fist into the side of one of the little shops nearby and curses loudly. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" When she doesn't answer he growls—a sick sound that comes from the depths of his throat and makes Emery's blood run cold—and grabs for her throat. She jumps back, an ungraceful move that causes her to stumble. He tries again, this time scratching her skin with his nails.

_Is he the one who caused these scratches? _She grabs her lesions and feels the small amount of warm blood on her hand. Instinctively when he reaches for her again she grabs his hand and pulls him forward, connecting her knee with his abdomen. He falls to his knees and clutches himself, grumbling in pain. Emery runs.

"Wait!" He sounds miserable, but Emery doesn't look back. "Em, I'm sorry!" He keeps talking, but Emery can no longer hear him as she races back to Aqua's house and, not caring if she wakes them up, slams door as she opens it to go in and as she shuts it to keep her impulsive attacker out.

"What happened?" Roxas says, jumping up and rushing to her when he sees the terrified look on her face. "What's wrong, Emery?" She shakes her head, breathing much too hard to talk.

"What happened to your neck, Emery?" Aqua asks, horrified. Then, seeing how hard the younger girl's breathing is, she goes to the kitchen and brings back a glass of water. Emery downs it and takes a deep breath.

"Some guy...he knew me, acted like we were friends. When I told him I couldn't remember anything he tried to take me to someone. Ves, no, Vel...I don't remember who he said but I wouldn't go and he got mad and attack me." She runs her fingers shakily across the dried blood covering her new wounds. "I kicked him or something and ran as fast as I could back here."

"Why would you go out at this time of night?" Roxas almost shouts, shocking both Aqua and Emery. "And alone! He could've-"

"Yeah, thanks. I know he could have killed me, _Roxas_." Emery stuns herself with her tone. She squeezes her eyes shut and says, "Sorry. I'm fine, though. I don't think he saw where I went so I think everything's okay."

"I'm sorry too," Roxas says shyly. "But what are we supposed to do? Stay in here and hope he's gone in the morning?"

"Maybe I should go check it out," Aqua says, running her hand through her blue hair. "I'll be right back." Emery wants to protest but Roxas, who knows very well that Aqua can fight for herself, pulls Emery into the living room and pushes her on the couch. Emery's eyes follow him as he sits beside her.

"Will she be okay by herself?" Emery looks back at the door.

"She has a lot of magic ability," Roxas explains. Emery frowns at him, not sure if he's joking. Roxas smiles. "She'll be fine." Emery notices that he seems drained, the purple under his eyes a testament to how poorly he's been sleeping. She puts her had on his shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Roxas looks at her and attempts a smile but yawns instead. Emery moves closer to him and holds out her arms for a hug, figuring they both need one. Roxas smiles and hugs her, though the way they're sitting makes it awkward so Roxas lets go and moves back on the couch more. Emery hardly waits for him to fully adjust and squeezes him tightly. "I was so scared," she whispers without thinking. Roxas tightens his grasp on her a little in response.

"I know," he whispers back. Emery pulls away. "But you're okay now." The door opens before Emery can say anything and Aqua walks into the living room. Roxas stands up a little too quickly. "Did you find him?"

Aqua shakes her head. "No, I didn't see anyone. I guess he left." She sits on the couch beside Emery, in Roxas's former seat, and looks at the younger girl. "Since we're up, do you remember anything else other than your mom and home?" Roxas slides his hand over his face and sits on the other side of Aqua.

"Well, not really. Does that mean the machine didn't work?"

"No, not at all. However, if we do it again and you still haven't remembered anything we may have to let your brain do it by itself." She stands up and goes into the kitchen. "Do either of you want coffee?" Emery nods but Roxas declines. After a bit of clanking, the aroma of brewing coffee drifts into the kitchen and makes Emery's mouth water. She breathes deeply through her nose several times. "Can I ask you something about that man?" Aqua asks as she sits down beside Emery.

"Sure."

"What exactly did he say to you?"

Emery recalls the conversation and, to the best of her ability, repeats it for Aqua. "He said he'd thought he'd find me here. Then he hugged me and called me Emmy, so I thought he was a friend from before I lost my memory." She almost tells Aqua that he said something about 'taking care' of Sora, but some little voice in her heads tells her to leave that part out. "He asked what I was doing and I told him I don't remember anything. He told me to go with him somewhere but he never said where. He only told me that Master V-something could help me remember. When I wouldn't go with him, he got really mad and attacked me. I thought he was crazy." She shakes her head, remembering how her body trembled with fear.

Roxas narrows his eyes but doesn't say anything while Aqua thinks about the situation. "You're sure it was Master _V_-something?" Emery nods fervently and Aqua slumps a bit with a soft sigh. Emery wonders silently why that would matter but doesn't bother asking. Aqua stands up slowly and, without a word, leaves for the computer room. Emery, desperate to talk about something other than that guy, turns to Roxas.

"You promised to tell me the whole story," she says cheerfully. Roxas raises his eyebrow. "About you and Ven!"

"Oh, right. Okay." He proceeds to explain Heartless and Nobodies to her first and when he's sure she understands he explains what happened to Ven and Aqua and their other friend, Terra, who Emery has yet to meet. When he comes to the part about the χ-blade, Emery stops him.

"What is that?"

"Okay, the χ-blade is the key to opening something called Kingdom Hearts. Kingdom Hearts is the source of all light in our world. I don't really know much about keyblades, except that a long time ago there was a war over Kingdom Hearts and the χ-blade was destroyed. Keyblades are made in the image of the χ-blade. I don't know why, something about people using them to fight over the light. But then some people decided to use them to fight against the darkness." Emery nods slowly, thinking she mostly understood that story. Roxas continues on, telling her about his time with Organization XIII how he reunited with Sora and Sora's final battle with Xehanort. She listens closely all the while, enthralled and a little confused.

When he's done, she sits back and sighs. "Wow, that's...crazy. So you all came here? Why didn't you go to Twilight Town?" Roxas shrugs.

"I was going to, but I just didn't want to have to start over with Hayner, Pence and Olette." Roxas stares at the ground. "But it's okay. I'm here with Naminé and Sora. And Axel, I mean Lea, visits a lot when he's not doing a lot of training with the keyblade."

"It's all so weird, though. I mean, what does everybody do now that they're...normal?"

Roxas laughs. "Well, Aqua goes to some school for...something. She's really smart, though. Naminé kind of works as Aqua's assistant. Most of us are taking classes at the college. Some of us work, Sora's parents pretty much pay for everything for him so he doesn't work but the rest of us do."

Emery suddenly remembers the coffee and gets up to go make herself a cup. Roxas follows her. "Do you think I should tell Aqua?" Roxas shakes his head. "I don't really know how I like it, or ifI like it at all." She laughs. "How do you usually drink it? Do you even like coffee?"

"Yeah, sometimes. I like it very sweet. Like, a lot of sugar." Emery laughs at him and he joins in. "Here, let me make it. I'll show you." He puts four tablespoons of sugar in the cup, pours a little bit of milk in it then fills it the rest of they way with coffee. After he stirs it, he offers it to Emery. "Here, it's really good this way." She takes a drink, finds it too sweet and almost spits it out, but force herself to swallow it instead. Roxas can tell, by the face she makes, that she doesn't like it. He laughs, "Guess not."

"That's incredibly sugary. It's not...bad, just hard to take." They're silent for a short time while Roxas considers what to do with the coffee that neither of them want. "Hey, Roxas...did you and Naminé-"

"No," Roxas interrupts. "Sorry, I know what you're going to ask. People used to ask us that all the time." He smiles at her. "I guess, if I'm honest, I wanted to be with her. I was young and she was the only girl I knew. Hormones, I guess."

"So why didn't you...you know, date or whatever?"

Roxas thinks about this while he pours the wasted coffee into the sink and watches it circle into the drain. "She wasn't interested. I don't know if there was someone else or if she just didn't want to be with anyone." He remembers that it hadn't been easy to hear her say she didn't care about him that way. She had been nice about it, but it was still a heart-breaking time in Roxas's life. "That was a couple of years ago, though. I'm over it."

Emery finds herself kind of glad that things didn't work out for them, though she feels bad that it obviously hurt him. She doesn't know what to say, though. She can't remember if she'd ever been in such a situation so she doesn't feel that she could really understand how it must have been for him. She imagines him telling her that he doesn't have feelings for her, and her heart aches a little, but she doesn't think it's even close to what it was like for him considering he still looks so sad even though he's 'over it'.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that," she says awkwardly. He walks back to her and smiles, no trace of sorrow remaining on his face. "It must be a little hard to be around her."

Roxas shrugs, "Not really. Like I said, I'm over it and she never was the type to let something bother her for too long." They go back to the couch and sit facing each other. They there silently for a long time until Emery thinks of another question to ask. When she looks up at Roxas to ask, he's sleeping with his head laying on the back of the couch. Emery giggles and stares for moment at his sleeping form. She decides to push him back so he can get more comfortable.

She stands up and lets her eyes slowly travel from his face down the rest of his body and back up. His blond hair, already a spiked mess normally, is somehow messier and his clothes are kind of wrinkled, probably from him sleeping in them. She watches his chest rise and fall steadily and begins to feel sleepy herself. She finds the courage to slide onto the couch beside him, laying her arm across his chest and snuggling against him as much as she can with his arm between them. He moves his arm, though, under her head and turns in his sleep toward her more so that she can bury her face into his chest. In a matter of minutes thanks to his warmth, she falls asleep.

She dreams of the man in town. He's friendly in her dream and she calls him Finn. They're fighting, but not in a serious way. It's more of a training session. A woman stands in the background, watching them with a pleased smile. Emery can't make out any of the woman's features except that her hair is a light black, almost grey, and she's wearing a long dark dress. Emery can't recall the woman's name so she focuses on the boy, Finn. He's grinning, no longer brandishing his practice weapon but instead he's showing her the picture of her mother. He says something, but Emery can't hear it. He drops the photo and repeats what he said. His voice is weird and feminine, nothing like what Emery had heard.

"Maybe she didn't love you."


	4. Chapter 4

Emery doesn't want to open her eyes. She knows that she's still entwined with Roxas on the couch and she doesn't want to move either; he's much too warm. Her thoughts turn to her dream instead and she instantly starts feeling a variety of emotions that she can't name. She remembers Finn vaguely, but enough to know that him attacking her was just in his rash and quick-to-anger nature. His voice—the one from the dream— haunts her and she wonders what he could have meant. Emery knows, somewhere deep in her heart, that her mother definitely loved her. She can't remember any specific moment with her to prove this, but she knows. Could Finn have been taunting her?

It also bothers her that, even though she just knew things about her last dream, there are many aspects of this one she can't quite grasp. For instance, the woman in the background. The only explanation Emery can think of is that she is the woman Finn had mentioned before. Another thing is Finn's female voice. Emery believes she should know it and who it really belongs to but she doesn't. She decides not to let it frustrate her anymore and just focuses on Roxas's steady breathing. She finds herself being lulled into a light sleep by his rhythmic inhaling and exhaling.

"Em," he says softly a few minutes later, stirring her from her nap. For the first time this morning, she opens her eyes. "Morning," Roxas grins. Emery can't help but smile back.

"Good morning, Roxas," she turns on her back a bit and stretches, causing her back to pop in several different places. She cringes, more at the feeling than at the sound, and stands up to let Roxas up. "That guy's name is Finn." She eyes Roxas for a reaction, but his face remains expressionless. "He and I are friends. Were friends?"

"I'd say were, considering he attacked you."

"Well, he's just very impulsive. And he has a short fuse. I'm not defending him, he shouldn't have attacked me and I know that I just...I also know, somehow, that he's sorry." Emery doesn't look at Roxas when he looks up to give her a look that asks "Are you stupid?". "Whoever he is or was to me, he knows where I come from and what I was doing here. I feel like I should talk to him."

Roxas shakes his head."I don't like that." Emery frowns, feeling a bit annoyed suddenly. "I don't think it's a good idea and I don't-"

"I don't think it's your choice." She says it calmly, not angrily, but his face falls just the same. He knows she's right. He barely knows her and he has no right to tell her who she can and can't talk to.

"I want to be there when you do, okay?" Emery smiles at him but he doesn't see it. He gets up and goes into a room down the hall. Emery takes a deep breath and lets it out, trying to figure out a way to find Finn and wondering if it's such a good idea to let Roxas hear what he has to say. Ever since she met—re-met?—Finn she's had an almost unnoticeable but still nagging feeling that she isn't here for a good cause. A toilet flushes and Roxas comes out of the room he'd gone into and makes his way back into the living room with Emery. Aqua appears behind him.

"Good morning, Aqua," Emery says cheerily. Aqua smiles.

"Good morning, Emery, Roxas. Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah," Emery glances at Roxas and a light pink colors her face briefly, "I did. And you?" Aqua nods and goes into the kitchen.

"Ah, I forgot about the coffee I made!" She pours some of the cold coffee into a cup and puts in the microwave. "Anyway. Did you remember anything else last night?" Emery nods and tells Aqua about her dream and what she could explain about it. Aqua seems surprised to learn that Finn and Emery were friends. "He doesn't seem like the type of person you'd be friends with." The microwave beeps loudly, signaling the coffee's reheated, and Aqua leaves for a few minutes to make her coffee. "At least," she continues when she reenters the living room, "you're remembering. Are we going to try again with the computer today?"

"I'd like to. The full two hours today, I think." Aqua nods and sips her coffee.

"That's fine. I have to get ready for class. I'll be back at around twelve today. You can come by anytime after that." Emery nods. "Alright, I'll see you later then." She takes her coffee back into her room.

"What do you want to do until then, Roxas?"

"Let's get breakfast." As they leave the house Emery's stomach growls and she puts her hand on her midsection, mentally telling her aching belly that they're on their to get something right now. "How do you plan to find him?" Emery looks up at the back of Roxas's head.

"I don't know. I guess I'm hoping he'll find me." She looks down as she steps over a small hole in the road. "I mean, I have no idea where he could be but he knows I'm here. I don't know how to leave the islands, and even if I could figure out a way I wouldn't know where to even start. It just makes more sense to wait, but I hope he hurries."

"What makes you so sure he's coming back?" Emery stares at his head silently for a long time, until Roxas looks back to make sure she's still following him. "What?" Emery shakes her head.

"I'm just trying to think of a way to explain how I just know he's looking for me, but I don't know." Roxas doesn't say anything to her as they finish their walk to the same restaurant they had gone to the day before. Emery can tell Roxas isn't happy about something, but she doesn't fully understand why. She knows he doesn't trust Finn, that much is obvious, she just doesn't understand why he cares so much. She definitely likes him a lot, and she hopes he feels the same way, but they still only barely know each other.

Roxas can't help it, though. Ever since he saw her lying so limply in that chair, ever since he saw her looking so defenseless, he just wants to protect her. Then only hours after that she comes running through the door, terrified and hurt by the same man she wants find and talk to now. He thinks she's crazy and he thinks talking to the guy is stupid, but what can Roxas do? He's not her father. He watches her pass by him as he holds the glass door open for her. Something about her makes him want to protect her. Maybe it's just her amnesia or maybe it's just his crush, but he can't ignore this defensive feeling he has for her.

"Roxas..." Emery's soft voice makes him looks into her sea green eyes and smile. "I won't talk to him, okay?"

"What? But you said-"

"I know, but if it's bothering you this much, I won't do it." She takes his hand from across the table. "I don't like seeing you so sad, Roxas."

She hadn't been entirely honest with Roxas and she feels really bad about that, but she has to talk to Finn and she doesn't think Roxas should hear any of it. They had spent the day, after breakfast and the two hours they spent at Aqua's house, walking through the town. Roxas had bought a pretty bangle set that had three different colors; blue, pink, and green. She stares at them now, hours later in the center of town in the middle of the night, as she waits for Finn. She hopes he'll come, but at the same time she hopes he won't. She's angry with herself for lying to Roxas and her guilt will only worsen if she actually talks to Finn.

"I'm glad I didn't scare you off, Emmy," a familiar voice says from behind Emery. She turns to see her red-haired friend as he approaches her. "I'm sorry about that," he points to her neck and her hand instinctively covers the marks.

"I know you are, Finn." He grins, pleased she knows his name now.

"So you remember now?"

"Not quite. I remember some things, but I was hoping you could fill in the rest. Let's start with who I am. I don't really know anything about myself." Finn inhales and exhales slowly.

"You're Emery. You like to do things by yourself, which is why you came here alone even though I knew it was a bad idea. You're stubborn, though so I couldn't talk you into letting me come. You like to joke and you don't like to be too serious. That's why I thought you were messing with me about this amnesia." He taps his head with his fingers. "And you're a great fighter."

"Okay...well what about where I come from? Or how old I am. Or where my mother is!" Finn's eyes widen when Emery asks about her mother. He looks down.

"Yeah, any part of me that still thought you were joking just vanished. You come from Sirius, you're twenty years old and your mom...she abandoned you. You don't talk about her—_ever_. Master Vexilia took you in, trained you." Emery frowns. Strangely, that part about her mother hadn't hurt that much to hear. More than anything, it made her mad. She's not sure if she's mad at Finn or if she's mad at her mother, but she decides to get back to that later.

"Why am I here?"

Finn laughs. "You don't even remember that much? You're here to take out some of Sora's friends, thin out their numbers so Vexilia can get to Sora without a problem." Emery shakes her head.

"I don't think I'd do something like that."

"Are you kidding?" He sounds a little annoyed now, but Emery isn't scared. "You don't remember shit, how are you gonna tell me you don't think you'd do that? Em, you're a manipulative, evil, cunning bitch—and I mean that in the best way possible. Before you lost your memory, you would've taken out half the damn group without a second thought. Including that little blond boy you've been running around with." Emery tenses when he brings up Roxas, a mix of guilt and anger rising up. "He's like a little love-sick puppy!"

"Shut up, Finn."

Finn smirks. "You getting mad, Em? Wanna fight me? Over some puppy!"

"She told you to shut up!" Roxas shouts as his foot connects with Finn's back. Finn falls on his face and pushes himself up with a fiendish grin. Roxas steps back, holding what Emery can only assume is a keyblade. "You lied to me, Emery!"

"Yeah she did! Just like her old self!" Finn swipes at Roxas, who barely leans back in time to dodge the bigger man's hand.

"Roxas, I'm sorry. I wasn't sure what he'd tell me and-"

"And she didn't want you to know how wicked she really is." He grabs Roxas's shirt and pulls him close but Roxas smacks him with the keyblade. "Ow, you little prick!" Emery rushes forward and grabs Finn just as he reaches for Roxas again. "Em?"

"Stop, Finn. For me?"

Finn stares at her for a second, then flashes her a huge grin as he pulls away from her. "Same old Emery. Trying to manipulate me." Emery's eyes widen. "Don't you see, _Puppy_, she's a cold hearted bitch and she's only going to use you to get what she wants and then break your little heart." He laughs.

"Stop talking about her!" Roxas screams as he brings the keyblade down on Finn's head. Finn falls to the ground, stunned, and groans. Emery kneels down next to him.

"I don't know what I did before I came here, but I'm not the same girl you knew. I'm not helping Master Whatever with anything." Finn laughs.

"Is that so? You can tell herself." He grabs Emery and they both fall into a deep black hole where they get separated. Emery turns herself around to look for Roxas but the darkness has already swallowed her and she can't see anything or anyone. She calls out, but not even her own voice makes any sound. With no other options left, she lets the her body go where it goes.

Eventually, she comes to a bright light. The darkness fades away slowly until she's sitting next to a huge tree. The tree's root by itself is larger than her and she figures the tree must be hundreds of feet tall. Emery sits engulfed in the tree's shade as she looks around the empty grassy field and she realizes something: She's home. She stands up and walks out into the sun, instantly feeling the heat and considers going back into the shade. She forces herself to continue moving forward, though.

She passes several more of the giant trees as she travels but sooner or later she reaches a part of the terrain where it's only grass for miles. The sun is beating down on her back mercilessly and she feels like she's been walking for hours, but she doesn't slow. In actuality, she's been walking for an hour and a half. She contemplates the reasons she hasn't seen or heard any living creatures besides herself when, speak of the devil, one tiny lizard comes scurrying up to her. She stops, a little confused as to why this thing is rushing at her feet as though she isn't there, and watches as it stops right in front of her.

"I have your puppy, Em. Don't you want to save him?" The lizard says in Finn's voice. Emery is astonished as she watches the lizard take off in the direction it had come. She recovers from her shock quickly enough to chase after the very fast lizard and she follows it all the way to a large destroyed city. The lizard continues in but Emery stops just outside the ruins, suddenly a little afraid of what waits for her inside. She turns her thoughts to Roxas. If Finn does have him, what would he do? Finn says Vexilia wants them dead but would Finn really kill Roxas? Fearing the worst, Emery works up the courage to walk into the city.

After about a thirty minute walk—in which Emery is sure she got lost—she comes to what she thinks is the center. A large, crumbling fountain stands surrounded by cracked cobblestones. The little bit of water left in the bowl of the fountain is murky and smells bad so Emery avoids getting too close to it as she walks past. Because she doesn't want to get lost in the blighted city again, she stands next to a decaying wooden bench and calls out for Finn.

"Finn! I'm here!" No one answers but she gives him a little more time before she yells again. "Finn!"

"Chill out, Emmy! I'm right here." Startled, Emery spins around on her heels. "So...I lied. I don't have your boyfriend." Emery growls.

"Where is he, Finn?"

Finn pretends to think. "I don't know. I know he came here with us, but I have no idea where he landed." He laughs. "You really like him, don't you? Came all the way here to save him." Emery decides she doesn't have time for this and brushes past Finn, only to have him grab her wrist and pull her back. "Where are you going?" He sprays something in her face. She coughs harshly and begins to choke as darkness blurs the edges of her vision. "Sorry, Em, but you weren't going to come willingly."

When Emery opens her eyes, she's looking straight into eyes so pale she thinks right off that the person is blind. The person, as Emery quickly and suddenly remembers, is Master Vexilia. With a sick smirk that makes Emery's stomach turn, Vexilia grabs her arm and pulls her to a small chamber similar to the one Aqua had in her room into which she practically throws the the younger girl. As the doors close, Emery looks at Finn and begs him to let her out but he acts as though he can't hear her. Vexilia pushes her white hair away from her tan face.

"This is going to hurt, Emery." She presses a button on the computer next to the pod Emery's in and the air becomes energized with electricity. The pain is unbearable and Emery tries to scream only to find that she's paralyzed. Though it feels like an eternity for her, the power is cut in a matter of minutes. Emery collapses in the pod, smacking her head on the doors painfully. Tears slide down her cheeks but she still can't seem move. Vexilia opens the doors and Emery falls on the floor.

"Finnley, take her to her room. And lock the door." Finn does as he's told. He hoists Emery's limp body over his shoulder and carries her to a bedroom with a large bed in the center. He lays her down on the deep blue bed spread and sits down beside her.

"I hope you remember everything soon. I miss you, Emmy." He leaves her alone and shuts the door. She hears a click. _As soon I can move, I'm getting out of here._


	5. Chapter 5

Even though she knows the door is locked, it's the first thing she tries when she can finally move her body well enough to get off the bed. When it won't open, she goes to the window and tries to push it up only to find the top needs to be pushed down. She climbs on the window sill, knocks the screen out of the way and nearly falls as she struggles to get over the window onto the opposite sill. Her heart drops when she looks down. The window is at least fifty feet off the ground and as far as she can tell there isn't an easier way out of the room.

Except for a large pond that Emery is sure, if she jumps hard enough from the ledge, she land in. If she misses...she tries not to think about that. Her insides tighten in fear and make her feel sick as she counts to three and pushes herself as hard as she can from the opening. As she's flying through the air, she looks down and realizes she's not going to make it. Her heart pounds painfully and she curls up into a ball, hoping she'll roll into the water with minimal injuries.

She unfurls when she hears a splash and feels the water rushing over her skin. She tries to scream in triumph but sucks in a mouthful of water and has to kick to the surface for air. She laughs wades in the water, exhilarated and shaking and just happy to be alive. She walk onto dry land and sneaks along the edge of the building—which to her resembles a large and old castle—toward a creepy forest. She doesn't know if it's the right way, seeing as Finn had brought her here while she was unconscious, but it's the only way she sees and she has to get away from here.

At some point, of course, the castle ends and she can no longer use it for cover. Between the fortification and the woods is an approximately three hundred foot field. She sprints across it and doesn't stop until she can no longer see the castle through the trees. She leans back against one of the trees to take a break, breathing heavily. Her lungs are burning but she feels kind of pumped, like she's ready to go. Go where, she doesn't know, but she's ready. She rests there for a long while, until her breathing is back to its normal pace, then heads deeper into the forest hoping she doesn't get lost.

It is a very deep forest, however, and even though she's tries really hard—she marks trees by pulling off pieces of bark—eventually she does get turned around and winds up somewhere she's already been. She takes a deep breath and looks around for the next marked tree and decides to try again. She follows the path she made until she gets to a cluster of tree that she doesn't remember seeing, none of which are marked, and ties a blade of grass around one of the thin branches on one of the trees. From there, she walks in a straight line to a tree several yards away and does the same thing and continues doing that for about an hour. After an hour and nearly one hundred fifty trees later, she finds a way out.

The plain, from what Emery can see, is wide, open and most importantly tree-less. As the sun sets behind one of the taller hills very far off in the distance Emery walks a good length away from the trees she just escaped from and sits down. Above the forest she had been in are two moons, one slightly eclipsed by the other, and as the sky gets darker they get brighter.

Emery thinks about Roxas. She wonders if he's okay. She's happy that Finn and Vexilia didn't have him after all but she can't stop thinking that he's probably scared and confused, in a world that is a lot different from his own. The worst part, she decides, is that he's alone. She rubs her hand over her face and lies back in the grass to look at the sky.

Emery had almost fallen asleep when she hears something she can't define. She opens her eyes and two dull golden orbs are glaring back at her. She squeaks and rolls away from the creature. It's a black monster that looks to Emery like a large ant. It's yellow eyes are glued to her, which she finds creepy. She stands up slowly, afraid that moving too fast will set the thing off and make it attack her. It won't stop twitching, something that makes Emery nervous.

"Master Vexilia is looking for you," it says a weird whispering wind kind of voice. Emery stares at the thing, dumb-founded.

"What are you?"

The thing fades into the ground, turning itself into a shadow and running around like that before coming back up to be three dimensional again. "Master Vexilia is looking for you." Emery frowns and the thing stands there and twitches. Because it seems to be here on behalf of Vexilia, Emery decides to leave it there. She starts for the hills but the thing follows her. She stops and looks at it for a moment, then tries again. It follows her. She narrows her eyes and walks past it, back the way she had come but it follows her. She growls and mumbles under her breath as she heads toward the hills again, the little ant-shadow in tow.

She tries to ignore it and her ever-growing paranoia that Vexilia is watching her through this things eyes, but it fades into the ground and starts moving around her in varying circles. She clenches her fists and keeps walking, hoping that if she accidentally steps on it it will hurt it.

She finally makes it to the top of one of the smaller hills and stops to look at what's beyond, the little ant monster stops and stands beside her twitching uncontrollably. She sneers down at it. "This is crazy. I have no idea where to go. I'm just going to get lost and starve to death." Emery sits down where she and looks at the black thing beside her. "I wish you'd tell what you are."

"Master Vexilia is looking for you," is all it says. She rolls her eyes.

"I bet you're some weird little spy. I guess she's got all the animals of this world under her control, which would explain why I haven't anything but a lizard. And you're the weirdest thing I've ever..." she stares at the spastic thing and thinks back to what Roxas had told her about Heartless. She realizes dismally that this thing next to her is one and immediately jumps up. "You're a Heartless! You could' hataken my heart! You could have...but you didn't." She relaxes a bit. "It must because Vexilia sent you." She shakes her head.

"Master Vexilia is looking for you." She takes a deep breath lightly touches the thing with the tip of her foot, wishing she was cruel enough to actually punt the annoying thing across the field.

"Whatever, I assume you're going to follow me around but I need to sleep." She puts her hand on her stomach and mumbles something about food. She taps the Heartless with her foot again. "Well let's go." She finds one of the giant trees she had seen when she first arrived and after trying to find anything to tell her it's the one or near the one she initially appeared under. Nothing strikes her as familiar but she tells herself that sleeping under this one for just a few hours will probably not kill her.

Glancing at the Heartless, which is watching her steadily, she makes herself comfortable and closes her eyes. Sleep takes her in a matter of minutes and am hour later she jerks upright. Dreams—or rather memories—had flooded into her mind so fast and so hard that it made her dizzy. Her head is pounding, but she remembers everything. A mix of emotions fill her and she punches the tree in anger and pain, then sits down to cry or laugh or do both. She tries to sort through the memories, to figure out why she feels so many things at once, but her head hurts too much and everything in her mind is jumbled and confused.

"Master Vexilia is looking for you," the Heartless says, getting Emery's attention. She stands up.

"Look, you annoying like pest, you can go back to _Master Vexilia_ and tell her I said to shut her fucking mouth." She kicks it, hard. Afterward she feels guilty and uncaring at the same time. A small part of her is asking why she would actually kick the thing. Then another part of her is answering that it's just a tool. It doesn't actually feel anything.

She looks around, wincing from the pain in her head, and suddenly remembers exactly where she is. Confidently, she starts walking toward where she had really first arrived knowing now that Finn had used a Dark Corridor to get them here. He always manages to end up where he wants but because Finn is still kind of bad at summoning the darkness he always loses anyone he takes through it it. Emery knows that she and Roxas would've landed some where near each other so she makes her way back to the first tree she saw and starts looking for something that would tell her where Roxas might be.

As she searches, she thinks about Vexilia. After losing her lover, Xehanort, to Sora nad his friends she went a little crazy. Of course, Emery and Finn had tried to calm her down only to have her throw insults their way like it was their fault he's gone. They took it like they knew they were supposed to. Emery growls at how brainwashed she had been. She wonders how she could have been so blind. She and Finn had always thought of Vexilia as their mother since she was the one who had found them and taken them in but she never realized just how ignorant she kept them.

Over the last few years, Vexilia had Emery and Finn go around to various worlds and help spread the Heartless so Xehanort could do whatever it was he wanted to do. Emery doesn't like being used and she doesn't like that it actually hurts her that Vexilia didn't care about her like she thought. And then, to make her anger worse, the Heartless that she kicked comes up out of her shadow.

"Master Vexilia is looking for you," it says. Emery loses it. She kicks the thing and when is dodges her attack by quickly moving to the left she screams and falls to the ground so she can grab it. It fades back into the ground, angering her further so she pounds on the ground where the Heartless sits.

"You stupid, annoying, ugly piece of-"

"Emery?" Roxas's voice makes her stop, fists frozen in mid swing. "Emery! Are you okay?" Roxas comes around and kneels down beside her. He jumps back up when he sees the Heartless. Emery watches as the annoying creature rises, facing Roxas, and its little yellow eyes begin to glow brightly. Roxas's keyblade appears in his hand and takes the Heartless out with one swing and the keyblade disappears again. "I've been dealing with those all day." He kneels down beside Emery again and puts his hand on her cheek. "Why are you crying? Are you hurt?"

Emery stares at him, eyes wide. She didn't know she was crying. She shakes her head to answer his question. "I don't know. What about you?" When she looks into Roxas's eyes fresh tears force themselves down her cheeks. She thinks about what her role in Vexilia's scheme was and imagines killing the boy in front of her, which only causes her to cry harder. Roxas pulls her closer to him in a hug and she clings to his shirt as tightly as possible until she regains her composure.

When she pulls back, Roxas gently wipes the tears from her face. "I'm fine, but clearly you're not. What's wrong?"

So Emery tells him. She tells hims that Vexilia had used her and that she was on Destiny Islands to release the Heartless and kill at least some of Sora's friends, including him. She tells him what Vexilia had done to cause her recovery and that the older woman is looking for her. She also tells him that she doesn't want to be her pawn anymore. "But she'll send Finn," she concludes, "and Finn will do what she tells him to. He's still..."

"Yeah. Well we have to stop him. What can we do?" Emery thinks about it for a long time, forming a plan in her head that she's sure will work.

"I'm sending you back to Destiny Islands. You have to warn everyone, okay? I'm gonna stay here and sabotage them from the inside. Vexilia won't send me back because...well because I'm sure Finn's told her I'm in love with you." Roxas blushes and Emery doesn't miss that. She tries not to look at him but he doesn't ask any questions about it.

"I don't know if that's such a good idea..."

"I'll go back when Finn does. I can talk her into letting me do that. I think this is our best bet, I have to try to make Finn see the truth about her." They stare at each other and Roxas nods.

"Okay," he finally says. Emery smiles and they stand up. She opens the Dark Corridor. "You better come back to the islands." Emery grins and hugs Roxas.

"I'll see you in a few days."

Roxas steps into the darkness and disappears. Emery takes a deep breath and makes her way back to the castle, trying to walk more confidently than she feels.

It doesn't take her long to get there. She went the wrong way when she couldn't remember the place and took a detour through the old abandoned city that Vexilia had destroyed. She walks up to the large wooden door of the palace and pulls it hard. Vexilia is waiting for her, a tanned face stretched into a happy grin.

"Emery! Darling! I was so worried about you!" The older woman exclaims, wrapping her arms around the darker haired girl. She holds her at arm's length and rubs Emery's hair away from her face. "Oh, I'm so glad you're okay. I missed you, my pet. I am glad to see you're well, though. Come, let's get you something warm to eat." Emery is a little confused. This isn't what she expected from the older woman. She expected to be attacked, or at the very least for the woman to be suspicious.

Emery follows her cautiously to the kitchen where Finn is cooking that smells delicious. Finn smiles. "I just finished," he says. "It's a good thing Master had me make enough for three. You were right as always, Master Vexilia."

Vexilia smiles warmly at Finn. "Of course I was, Finnley. Mothers simply know their daughters." With Vexilia's hand on her back, Emery melts. She can't remember why she ever doubted that Vexilia loves her. Of course she does, she's her mother. Emery grins at Finn, who mirrors the expression and divides the food between three plates. "Well, Finnley, that smells divine. I can't wait to eat it!"

After they eat, Vexilia draws a warm lavender scented bubble bath for Emery. Emery thanks her and gives her a hug before enjoying her bath for nearly an hour. The sun starts to rise and Emery can see it from the window in the bathroom. She smiles, completely relaxed. She tells herself that this is where she belongs. When she thinks of Roxas, her stomach twists into a painful knot but she slaps the bubbles and forces herself to think about something else.

_After all,_ she thinks as she stand up and wraps a towel around herself, _I can't abandon Master Vexilia again. Not just for some boy._


	6. Chapter 6

After spending a week in the castle with Vexilia and Finn, Emery found her old self returning. At first, she felt a little awkward and nervous about it but after a few days she transitioned from the sweet vulnerable girl she had been back to that cruel and selfish woman Finn had told her she was. She sits on the roof of one of the towers and looks out over the darkening land. The almost black clouds above her head smell heavily of rain and she knows that at any moment it's going to start pouring.

She stands up and turns around to look at the scorched ground behind the castle. Vexilia had burned the large corn field and left nothing but charred dirt and rocks when she, Emery and Finn came to take the large manor. She smirks as she remembers how scared the servants had looked as they ran from her and Finn.

"Emmy!" Finn calls loudly from below her. Emery turns and looks down at the red head. "I made lunch! Get down here!" Emery narrows her eyes wondering where he got the nerve to talk to her like that as she carefully slips down from the roof onto the small walkway that leads back into the tower. She scowls at him a few minutes later when she enters the dining room. "What?"

"Don't talk to me like that!" She punches his chest and earns an _oof_. "Moron," she adds under hear breath as she sits down in front of a plate. The food looks and smells absolutely delicious, but Emery pokes at it with mild interest until Finn finishes and leaves. _Well it's about damn time, _she thinks as she starts really digging into it. She simply hates letting Finn know that he's done something worth praising. After she finishes it, she quickly cleans her mess up then disappears into her room for a nap.

It doesn't feel like much later to Emery when she's awakened by the sound of hushed voices right outside her door. Quietly, she gets closer and puts her ear against the wood and listens to Vexilia and Finn.

"Emery will not be going back to Destiny Islands until I am sure she can carry out her objective without romantic feelings obscuring her resolve. It shouldn't be much longer, I'm sure, but I need you to determine how much she still feels for that boy." Emery imagines Finn nodding, like he always does when Vexilia gives him an order, and rolls her eyes.

"Where are you going, Master?" There's a moment of silence before Finn says, "You're going to talk to him then."

"Yes, Finnley, I am." Emery frowns. That voice doesn't belong to Master Vexilia. "Now, go talk to dear Emery."

Emery steps back a few steps and waits for Finn to knock on her door but instead he just opens it. Emery kicks him in the leg as hard as she can, sending him to the floor. "Why the hell are you coming in here without knocking? Idiot. What was that about?"

"Damn, Emery, I thought you were sleeping," Finn replies, his voice telling Emery he's in quite a bit of pain which she relishes in.

"And that means you don't have to knock? Tell me about your little talk with Master Vexilia. If I have to ask again, I'm going to kick you much harder and in a much more sensitive spot." Finn glares at her for a second, receiving an amused smirk, then stands up so he's looking down at her. Her smirk turns into a defiant glower but Finn yields to prevent any further injuries to himself.

"She won't send you back to Destiny Islands if she thinks you're going to get in your own way, Em."

"Well, I'm not. Whatever I felt before...it's gone now." Emery glares at Finn as he studies her in silence for a moment. "If it's such a problem, we'll kill him first."

"She went to talk to him herself," Finn says quietly, as if it might bother Emery in some way.

Emery shrugs. "So what, it's taken care of then?" Finn nods and walks around to Emery's bed and Emery bites back the anger she feels when he sits on it without permission. "What, Finn? I hate it when I'm kept in the dark so just tell me."

"She went as your...mother..."

Emery doesn't say anything. Part of her is angry at him mentioning her, part of her is hurt that her Master would do something like that and part of her is trying to figure out why. The fact that there isn't a good reason she can come up with bothers her more than anything. It makes her feel like there's something she doesn't know about herself. And it must be about her, she concludes, otherwise why would Vexilia use _her_ mother? She sits down beside Finn.

"What are you not telling me, Finnley?" Emery looks at her soft white carpet rather than Finn but he takes the tone of her voice for the threat it is. He doesn't say anything until she looks up at him.

"There's nothing. If there's something you don't know, I don't know it either. She didn't tell me her plan." He stands and walks to the door, pausing beneath the arch. "If you're sure you can do this, I'll tell her we can go."

"I am sure." Emery watches Finn disappear past the wall, feeling confident that any sort of emotion she'd experienced around Roxas is gone.

It had only taken a week for the memories of Roxas to lose all their value to her, after all. Every time she summons his face in her mind she feels nothing, and the longer she imagines his face the harder it is to even remember how she felt. She thought she'd feel some sort of loathing for him instead but that isn't the case. She's indifferent to him, to his existence. He could die, she could be the one to kill him, and she wouldn't care.

She wonders why she ever did in the first place. She wonders about that part of herself that was even able to care about him. With all the things she's done, all the lives she's destroyed, she didn't think she could care about anything anymore much less have some childish little crush on a boy she just met. So where did it all come from? Is she really that lonely?

She scoffs at the idea, telling herself that things like that are beneath her as she walks out of her bedroom to find something to distract from her thoughts. She can't find Finn, not that she looks very hard for him, and with nothing better to do she goes outside for a walk. The sky is dotted with gray puffy clouds but the ground is as dry as it was this morning. It hadn't rained at all, like Emery thought it was going to.

She makes her way to the pond and sits at its edge, running her hands on the sandy bank as she stares at the large fish swimming around in the water. They're barely visible, their clear bodies camouflaging them in the pristine liquid, and the only way Emery can spot them is if she looks closely for bubbles.

She loved the fish, back when her mom was around. Watching them now, she starts to wonder what happened to that side of her. Why did she stop loving things like these fish? She sighs, annoyed with her own mind. "It's because she left you," she says quietly.

"You talking to yourself, Em?" Finn says, sitting down beside her in the sand. She doesn't look at him. "I always thought you were crazy."

"Shut up." Neither of them say anything after that until Emery asks, "Why are you here?"

"Just wondering what you were doing out here. And I was bored so-"

"No, I mean what did Vexilia do for you? Why do you follow her?" Emery looks at Finn with a slight frown.

Finn shrugs. "She saved me. I was literally dying when she found me. Drowning actually. I didn't know how to swim and I fell in a pool. No one was around, I thought, but out of nowhere she pulled me out of the water." He laughs. "Then she taught me how to swim."

"What about your parents?"

"I don't know. Dead I guess. I was an orphan and some how ended up in a pretty decent institution. I mean, they had a pool."

"Yeah, but they left you alone by that pool when you couldn't swim." Emery frowns and digs her fingers absentmindedly into the sand. "Why was she at an orphanage?"

"Huh?"

"She doesn't seem like the kind of person to adopt orphans..."

"I think you're over thinking things, Emmy."

"Yes, Emery, you are." At the sound of Vexilia's voice, both of them jump to their feet. "Come now, children. Let's discuss your mission." As Finn follows their master back inside the castle, Emery lingers by the pond and tries to remember the last time she's been with her mother.

"Come on, Em," Finn says, turning to beckon her to follow. She hesitates but does as she's told. "You sure you're ready for this, Emery?" Finn holds the door open for her.

"Yes, I'm sure." She gives him a sharp glare. "Don't question me, I already told you I can do this." Finn holds up his hands and bows his head a bit.

"Alright, I believe you." He walks behind her into the sitting room and they take their seats across from Vexilia.

"Well, Finnley, do you think she is prepared for this mission?" Vexilia looks only at Finn, who nods. "Very well then. Tomorrow you will go to Destiny Islands. Heartless have already been released there so the Keyblade wielders have their hands full. They should be easy." The older woman smiles smugly. "You two will make things a little more difficult for them."

"How?" Emery asks, finally getting Vexilia's attention. The woman's smiles softens.

"However you want, my dear Emery. As long as I have Sora." Emery nods and turns her eyes away from the woman she once thought of as her mother. "You doubt yourself?"

"No," Emery says. "I'm just thinking of the best way to take care of this." Vexilia smiles again, though the expression doesn't quite meet her pale eyes. "Anything else?" Emery asks, almost defiantly.

"No, that's all." Vexilia turns her head to Finn. "Though I would like to speak to you a while longer, Finnley." Finn nods as he watches Emery leave the room. She walks all the way to the castle door then quietly, making sure to make no sound with her feet, she walks back to the room and listens.

"Why would you tell him that, Master?" Finn asks, sounding astounded.

"Because that is what she is, Finnley. When he sees her, he will try to kill her. I'm sure he's told the others by now too."

"You want them to-"

"She can take care of herself. This will give her incentive to fight if any love for the boy still remains." There's a moment a silence but Emery can't hear any footsteps so she stays where she is and waits. "What are you wanting to ask, Finnley?"

"I...well if she is...how can she even be in love with him?" Vexilia's shrill laughs echoes in the room.

"Her detestable mother made that possible." Emery frowns, wondering what her mother did and wishing she'd heard the start of the conversation. "But no more questions now. Go prepare for tomorrow." Emery quickly ad quietly ducks into the next room and listens as first Finn's steps fade then Vexilia's. Once everything is quiet, she goes upstairs to her bedroom.

She pulls a sheet of paper and a pen form her desk and starts to write a list of things she doesn't understand or remember. The first thing is the last time she saw her mother. The second is why Vexilia was at Finn's orphanage. She scribbles a few more things on the paper, including what she was and what her mom did, before making of lists of explanations.

"It doesn't make sense," she whispers. She reads and re-reads the words she wrote. Everything, in fact, did make sense. The memory of her mother she repressed because it's too painful to remember, Vexilia being at Finn's orphanage probably looking for another follower. The only thing she can't explain is what she is, and she could if she'd heard the start of the conversation. What doesn't make sense to her is why everything makes sense. She was so sure something else was going on, that Vexilia had been lying about something, that she can't accept that she's wrong.

She crumples the paper and throws it away. The only thing Vexilia had been lying to her about was what she is. Finn had been right, though. She was over thinking things. She sighs and lies on her bed. At some point, she dozes off.

"Emery, wake up. It's time to get ready." Finn's voice invades her dreams and pulls her from sleep. "Emery..." She forces her eyes open and looks into the bright green eyes of her friend. "Hey! Great, now get ready. Today's the big day." He grins, hopping around Emery's room in excitement.

"Calm down and get out. I have to change clothes." He rolls his eyes and leaves as she clumsily stands and rubs her face. She looks at herself in the mirror, still doubting Vexilia and finding herself nervous about going back to Destiny Islands. With a sigh she walks to her closet for clean clothes and her pair of sai.

She examines the tips of each one very closely, having sharpened them to use as more lethal weapons than traditional sai, carefully puts them in the sheaths she made for them and heads downstairs where Vexilia and Finn are talking quietly.

"Make sure you take care of Emery. I want her to come back unharmed," Vexilia says as Emery rounds the corner.

"I can handle myself," Emery growls, glaring into her master's light eyes. Vexilia smiles, a gesture Emery used to take comfort from.

"Of course you can, dear. Are you both ready to go?" Emery nods and opens a Corridor of Darkness, which both she and Finn walk into. She can feel Vexilia's eyes on her back as she walks away until the entrance closes.

"You are ready for this, right?"

Emery inhales loudly. "Yes, _Finn, _I am. If you ask me one more time, I'll be the only one to make it to the islands." She stops to glare at her companion. "Tell me something. What did Master Vexilia say to you when I left the study yesterday?" Finn frowns and looks at his feet. "What's the point of keeping it a secret? Don't you think when we get there Roxas will tell me?"

"Yeah, alright. Look it's just that you aren't going to be happy and-"

"I'm already not happy."

Finn stares at her, kind of sadly to Emery's surprise. "Yo-" Something grabs him by the throat, making his eyes grow wide as he claws at whatever it is that's holding him. Emery recovers from her astonishment quickly enough to pull out her sai and slash at the monster. "What the hell was that?" Finn screams angrily, pulling out his own sword and standing ready beside Emery.

"I don't know and I don't know where it went. Come on, let's just get to Destiny Islands." Warily, they make their way out of the corridor and onto the sandy beach and are greeted by the sight of more Heartless than they'd ever seen in one place. "Whoa..."

"I didn't realize this is what Master Vexilia meant," Finn mumbles as he looks around the battlefield that was once a beautiful beach. Emery spots Kairi, wielding a pink floral Keyblade and defending Naminé and a brunette whom Emery is certain is Selphie.

"Come on, let's get these three first. They'll be the easiest," Emery says, leading Finn to the girls. Naminé's face pales when she sees Emery approaching them and she stutters Kairi's name weakly. Kairi nearly drops her Keyblade in shock which allows one of the shadows to swipe at her arm and leave two deep cuts that bleed and seep darkness. She cries out, grabbing her arm and looking at it in anguish.

The distraction grants Finn the time to grab her by her hair and push her on the ground while Emery grabs Naminé. As Selphie runs away, Naminé fights against Emery's grasp and frees herself but the struggle makes her unsteady and Emery forces her back down easily. Emery hesitates with her sharp sai pointed at Naminé's chest.

"Leave her alone!" Sora screams as he kicks Finn away from Kairi. Emery's head jerks up and she stands as Riku and Roxas come running with their Keyblades ready.

"Emery?" Roxas starts for her but stops when he sees Naminé on the ground. Emery panics when Roxas raises his own Keyblade at her, realizing instantly that she isn't ready for this fight.

"Emery!" Finn yells and punches Sora as hard as he can in the face. Riku attacks him with his Keyblade in Sora's defense. Finn yelps but recovers quickly enough to retaliate. "What are you doing? Help me!" Emery's heart races, her panic keeping her frozen in place and unable to speak. "Emery!" Before Emery can figure out what she wants to do, Roxas attacks her. She jumps back to dodge but he keeps attacking. "Dammit!" Finn shouts and summons a corridor.

"Finn!" Emery screams, finally finding her voice though it's a bit broken. Finn walks into the darkness and leaves Emery to cope by herself.

"Some friend," Riku says as he raises his weapon. Emery cringes, but braces herself for the fight. Sora and Riku charge in first, with a suddenly reluctant Roxas following behind, and Emery pushes her uncertainty back and blocks every attack with ease. They're relentless and she can't get a single hit in. She's a better fighter than any one of them by far, but together the three of them may overpower her and as she comes to this realization Finn bolts past her. Any thought of him coming to help her is wiped out when he runs as fast as he can past the boys.

"Run, Emery, run!" He shouts as he passes. Emery glares at him and growls.

"Coward!" She calls, her battle with the three boys halted as they all watch Finn run off to the other side of the island. A low rumble that shakes the ground and vibrates up through the trees emits from the portal Finn had left open, causing everyone to look back at it. A large black arm ending in two pointed claws extends from the darkness and a giant shadow pulls itself through. Emery nearly drops her sai.

"A Gigas Shadow?" Sora stares dumbfounded at the monster. Another shadow slides into the sun in its two-dimensional form. Emery takes a few steps back as the monsters advance, allowing room for more. A total of seven had escaped from the corridor by the time it closes and all but one start attacking the rest of the island. The one remaining makes its move on Sora, fading into the ground and passing right under Emery as if she wasn't even there.

While attention is shifted away from her she tries to decide if she wants to run or take them out with the help of this Heartless. Confused, she runs in the direction Finn had, passing Roxas as she goes. "I just need time to recuperate," she whispers to herself. She hadn't been expecting such huge Heartless or to be forced to fight three people at once.

As quickly as she can and trying not to be noticed, she slips into the shadows of the secret cave. After assuring herself no one else is in there with her, she leans against the wall and lets her breathing even out. She wonders if Vexilia knew about the Gigas Shadows but hopes that she would have warned them. She can't quite convince herself that her cruel master would.

"You lied, Emery." Roxas' voice fills the cave and echoes off the walls making Emery's heart stop. She takes a deep breath and pushes off the wall, forcing herself to look calmly into Roxas' deep blue eyes as he stands only a few feet from her in the entrance. She tells herself over and over that she's in control while feeling chaotic inside, but when her voice comes out she's surprised at how level it is.

"I lied about a lot of things. Which instance are you talking about?" For a split second Roxas' face twitches in sorrow but he narrows his eyes.

"You never lost your memory," he says through his teeth. Emery frowns. "Why did you pretend you did?" Emery is at a loss for words. Obviously Vexilia had lied to Roxas about that just to make them fight, she even said so herself, but Emery doesn't feel like playing Vexilia's game. "Well, are you going to deny it?"

"Who told you that?"

"Your mother." Roxas raises his head confidently when Emery cringes involuntarily. "She also told me what really happened."

"Yeah, and what's that?"

"She said you killed everyone you knew, and even tried to kill her!" Emery feels the urge to laugh out loud, even though she's more angry at Vexilia than she's ever been. She may not remember what happened to her mother but it definitely was not that she tried to kill her. "You sacrificed your body willingly to become a Heartless." Roxas adds, extending an accusing finger. Emery looks away to hide her astonishment. So that's what Vexilia had been hiding. She doesn't remember anything like that ever happening but if that's what she told him then it has to be the truth. She told Finn it was.

She bites back the mix of emotions that grip her and tightens her grip on her weapons. "What are you going to do?" She looks back at Roxas, who seems a bit taken aback by her attitude. "Are you going to try to stop me? If I'm a Heartless, then you have to. If you don't I'll take all your friends' hearts!" His Keyblades appear in his hands and he stands ready.

"Yeah, that is what I'm going to do."


End file.
